Annabelle Claire Bennett (nee Darin; born 8 January 1950) was the eighth Chancellor of

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private university, private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Queensland, Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teachi ...

and a former Judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

Early life and education

Annabelle Claire Bennett (born Darin) was born on 8 January 1950 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, to Emanuel Darin (born Finkelstein) and Raissa Darin (born Atlas). Bennett's father was a lawyer, and at an early age she had hopes of following him into the legal profession. Her father, however, thought that law was a bad career choice for women, because "you had to be better than the best to break even" and discouraged his daughter from pursuing this ambition. Instead, Bennett studied science at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and completed a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the same institution. In 1980, still interested in the legal profession, Bennett went on to study law at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Career

After graduating from the

, Bennett began practising as a barrister, specialising in

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

. Bennett was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia on 5 May 2003. Bennett was also an additional Judge of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

and a presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Bennett is arbitrator of the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

and was named for the special arbitration panel to operate during the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Bennett retired from the Federal Court on 23 March 2016, and now practises as a consultant

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, mediator and arbitrator at 5 Wentworth. In April 2016, Bennett became the eighth Chancellor of

in Queensland. After eight years in the role, she was replaced by David Baxby, a graduate of the university. On 20 February 2020, Bennett was appointed as a commissioner to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. In 2022, the Albanese government commissioned an Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units, that reported in December 2022. The independent panel was composed of Ian Chubb AC (chair), Bennett, Ariadne Gorring, and Stephen Hatfield Dodds.Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is a department of the Australian Government. The department was established on 1 July 2022, superseding the water and environment functions from the Department of A ...

, accessed 2023-01-11

Awards and honours

Bennett was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 2005, for "service to the law, particularly in the areas of intellectual property, administrative law and professional conduct; and to the community through a range of educational, medical, women's and business organisations". In 2011, she received the honorary degree of doctor of the university from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. She was upgraded to a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AC) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 2016 she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of New South Wales. In May 2020 Bennett was elected Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

Personal life

Annabelle Bennett is married to David Bennett, the former Commonwealth Solicitor-General. Outside of the courtroom, Bennett's interest in biological sciences has continued, and she has been involved in a number of committees, including the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee, the Biotechnology Task Force and the Gene Patenting Advisory Committee of the Australian Law Reform Commission. She has also served as a Director of the

Sydney Children's Hospital Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, is an Australian children's hospital located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. On 1 July 2010 it became part of the newly formed Sydney Children's Hospitals Netwo ...

and Neuroscience Research Australia and is a former president of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. In 2012, she was appointed Chair of the

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...

. Bennett is also a past President of Chief Executive Women, a former Trustee of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust. She was a member of the Reference Group for the APEC Women Leaders' Network Meeting 2007 and the Head of the Australian Delegation to the APEC Women Leaders' Network Meeting 2008 in Peru.

References

External links

Annabelle Bennett
on Australian Women Lawyers as Active Citizens {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Annabelle Claire 1950 births Living people Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Australian women judges University of Sydney alumni University of New South Wales Law School alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Officers of the Order of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Australian biochemists Australian women chemists Australian Jews Chancellors of Bond University Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science 21st-century Australian chemists 20th-century Australian chemists